From here I’m returning home.  After much thought I’ve decided to hit the Northeast in the Fall, when children are back in school and the leaves turn color.  I’m not eager to search for available campsites/hotels.  I’m also not excited about sharing my fun with misbehaving kids or, more distressingly, parents that let them misbehave.  So sometime in September I’ll head to the Northeast.

I’m not going to rush my return home, though with Victoria Day weekend in Canada and Memorial Day weekend the following week, speed may be called for.  I’ll probably do the coastal route.  Been there, done that, but it’s worth revisiting.

Drove towards the Dalton Highway, also known as the Haul Road.  It goes all the way to Prudhoe Bay and is mostly gravel or mud.  Got within 46 miles of Mile 0, or 65 degrees North.  Far enough.  Nice view.  Lots of trucks, all extremely dusty.

Visited a viewing pint for the pipeline.  The technology is really interesting.  For instance, when above ground the pipe lays unattached to it’s support.  The pipe can slide around.  The posts have radiators to deflect heat from the permafrost so it doesn’t melt.

Learned a lot about mining gold.  (An Italian named Pedro discovered the gold near Fairbanks.)

Pioneer Park has a bunch of old houses and shops, which are mostly closed until the 15th.  One shop was open and I had a fun conversation with the operators.  They’re snowbirds from Florida.  They gave me several good tips.  The Park also has a rail car used by President Harding and a steamboat that was used in the area up until WWII.

Had fried cod for dinner.

I’m changing my itinerary.  The next post.

The upper beam is not attached to the lower one.

For those scientists among you.

The brown is almost certainly dust thrown off the trucks as they pass by.

Everyone needs wolf head mittens.

The first picture below is the scenery I had when I hit the road this morning.  Shortly thereafter a caribou (Moose? Elk? Whatever) crossed the road just a few hundred yards in front of me.  In seconds he disappeared into the bush.

The sun was out and the views were marvelous.  75 degrees at midday.  Arrived in Delta Junction, the end of the Alaskan Highway to have lunch.  Wrong.  The visitor’s center has a sign: “Closed for 2015!  See you next year!”  Most restaurants are closed permanently.  Others are open only for dinner.  Delta Junction is nearly defunct.

Proceeded onward to Fairbanks, again with a view to die for.  It was hard not to stop every few minutes to take pictures.  Briefly drove around North Pole, another city seemingly on its last legs.  Finally got to Fairbanks and discovered that I’ve arrived a week too early.  RV Parks and many other tourist locations open May 15th.  Found a State Recreation Area.  No showers, no wifi.  It’ll do.  The stress of finding a place to camp wore me out emotionally, so I took a break from tourism and went a movie.

Fun fact: In 1902 the community’s founders agreed to rename the place Fairbanks, to curry favor with Washington DC.  The name was that of Senator Samuel Fairbanks, of Indiana. (I’m thinking some town somewhere is thinking that “Trump” has a nice ring to it.)  The city has lots of historical markers and fun stories, which I enjoyed reading until 9:30.  (It’s now 10:45 and I’m not close to needing a flashlight.)  There is truly a lot of history here.  Among other things, it was the changeover point for airplanes headed to the Soviet Union in WWII.  Americans flew them in, Russians flew them out.  I’m looking forward to spending at least one full day here.  Maybe more.  I’m going to skip any kind of excursion to the Arctic Circle.  Too much time and money for too little reward.  I’ll save it for the cruise trip.

Mosquitos are out, but my repellent is doing it’s job.

The Canadian checkpoint is about 18 miles AFTER entering Canada.  The USA checkpoint is about a half-mile AFTER entering Alaska.  I could have entered Alaska and turned around before actually going through the USA checkpoint.  So much for international borders.  I love this about the USA and Canada.  Friends to the end.

There are various memorabilia at the Canadian/Alaska border.  Very cool.  The checkpoint was entertaining for me because the agent asked, “Where did I work before retirement?” I answered “NCIS”.  He says, “Really, that’s where I worked from 1978-79. I worked for Jack Guadalia.”  I knew Jack (crazy guy).  We could have sat down for a long talk, but there were cars waiting.  It was a nice coincidence.  Small world.

I continued on in minor rain to the town of Tok.  Tok is a minor town, but it has a miracle in its history.  In 1990 it was looking at extinction from a fire sweeping across the plains, when a sudden wind shift saved it. In 2009 it recorded an unofficial temperature of -80 degrees.  Which is partially why I chose to stay in the Golden Bear Motel tonight rather than it’s RV Park.  Really nice people.

I’ve now done that which was on my primary list of “Things To Do” on this motorcycle adventure.  Everything else is gravy.  Going to Nova Scotia is more about remembrance of things past, since my parents dragged the kids there in the 60s.  Basket weaving and leather belt making in the Bay of Fundy. I have fond memories, but I didn’t do it on a motorcycle.  I also want to enjoy New England and the New York countryside on two wheels.  A little bit of my enthusiasm is gone now.  I’ve got to get to Seattle obviously.  After that, I may go south to home or east to more adventures.  For now I’ve got some Alaska to explore!

Nicest people! Wifi works in the rooms behind the office.

A kodiak Bear. Doesn’t want anyone to change the channel.

Part 1 for the day: It was a cloudy day, but the mountains stood out anyway.  See the pictures.

The drive was not challenging, exactly.  It wasn’t fun, exactly.  Bumpy for sure.  Curvier than the past.  But the 30 miles of gravel was, for me, satisfying.  I’ve always been terrified of gravel, but somewhere today I got past that fear.  I guess I’d call it a zen moment. Instead of stressing out and tensing up, I started ignoring the minor bumps and began accelerating out of the tough spots.  “Trust the bike”, instructors would probably coach, and that’s what I did.  Even when an 18 wheeler walked right past me.  I wasn’t looking back, so when this monster sped past me while I thought I was doing so good, well, all I could think was, wow!  The driver gets big points for that.

Anyway, the drive was unforgettable, and the views, even with clouds, were sensational.  If I don’t find a ferry option suitable, I’ll be doing this ride again.  Even with the gravel, I plan on enjoying it.  But I hope the sun is shining.

There was a little more information about the Army’s construction of this road in 1942.  I continue to be in awe that it took just eight months.  Of course I think this is not exactly right.  The arctic permafrost threw a curveball in the spring when their roads began to turn to mush.  Today’s road rides in most places 30 feet above the surrounding ground.  I assume this is required to prevent the permafrost from melting and the road from sinking.  But the fact remains that 1,400 miles of road was created where none were before.  History shows that the road wasn’t actually necessary, but it sure was nice that they built it anyway.  As Jim Lovell has been fond of saying about going to the Moon: “It’s not a miracle: They just decided to go.”

Very nice day.  A few sprinkles, but mostly sunshine.  Easy drive.  Based on advice of fellow travelers I drove to Haines Junction, about 90 miles past Whitehorse.  Only 300 miles to the next stop, Tok, Alaska.  Road had no gravel stretches, but bumps were more common.  Most had warnings.  One really long steel decked bridge, but not an issue.  No animals seen.  Most markers were nature, not historical, based.  Camera was set wrong for most of the day!  The wheel on top gets turned and I don’t notice.

Didn’t visit Whitehorse.  Too many people.  31,000?  Capital of Yukon.  I might be driving past it again on the return.

Two Fairbanks natives flew to Seattle to purchase used Goldwings.  Driving them back.  Tough road to take for new riders of such large motorcycles.  But they’re well prepared and seem to be doing very well.  They’ve driven the road before in trucks.  Also met one couple of classic snowbirds pulling a trailer.  Nevada in the winter, Fairbanks in the summer.

Washed the bike tonight.  I feel much better, though I know she’ll just get dirty again tomorrow.

Memorial for an engineer who died during the road’s construction

Haines Junction

My best side

Mostly dismal weather. Cold. Some freezing cold rain, but not a lot. Two patches of gravel and one construction section. Lots of wood bison. Brown bear and black bear. The lake was very beautiful. 370 miles. A crown came out this morning. No pain yet. Headache all day. Sunset 9:48, sunrise 5:12.Sunshine tomorrow, they say. Famous Whitehorse tomorrow, only 258 miles.

After 11,036 miles, I got to mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. Background: The road was built in 1942 by the Corp of Engineers.  Over 1,400 miles in eight months. An incredible feat, but only a footnote in a decade of monumental events.

Dawson Creek has totally embraced its role in the highway’s history. An excellent museum.  I had a great time with the curator once we got past his canned lecture and went into the details. (I already knew its broad history.)

Due to progress there’s two other towns north of Dawson Creek which disturbs the transition to wilderness road. But eventually you’re allow with nature. The road is less harrowing than when originally built, but it still has some awfully steep sloops.

A wooden curved bridge. Very rare.

Fire

Fire

The acknowledged starting point for the Alaskan-Canadian Highway (the “AlCan”) is Dawson Creek.  It famously begins the (now unofficial) mileage to Alaska with “0”.  I almost got there today.  I’m about 80 miles away.  But the rain last night made me uncomfortable with the condition of my tent, so in Grande Prairie I checked for an inexpensive hotel and found one.  The tent and ground cover are now drying out in the bathroom.  I think they would have been fine tonight. Lesson learned.

The drive was unremarkable.  Wonderful mountain views.  Some interesting aspects on the route, such as logging sites and a coal-burning power station immediately adjoining a coal mine.  But overall it was just a road.

From Edmonton to Jasper the land slowly shifts from farmland to rolling hills to forest to mountains. Arrived in Jasper as clouds were rolling in. I first confirmed that there was no low cost lodging, then headed to the campsite. Rain wasn’t forecast until midnight, but raindrops were already falling intermittently. Finished setting up the tent, then headed back to town. It’s clearly not the tourist season yet. Mostly empty. Typical tourist town. Had some Canadian wine.

In a weird coincidence, friends Debbie and Steve also arrived, by train. Fancy train. Fancy hotel. Dinner was a bit above campsite food. Excellent time, swapping stories. The waiter was also very talkative, giving tips and telling his own stories of the area.